


Keychain Monster

by lovebashed



Category: Bandom, My Chemical Romance
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-02-03
Updated: 2012-02-03
Packaged: 2017-10-30 13:23:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/332199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovebashed/pseuds/lovebashed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frank reflects on past Halloweens as he spends his birthday in the van with his friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keychain Monster

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [ciel_vert](http://ciel_vert.livejournal.com) in 2010.

One Halloween night in the late 1980s, Frank ate a whole bag of candy by himself in his bed under the blanket, yellow gummibears and chocolate coins and hard candy that made his tongue turn blue, hours after his mom had gone to bed. He made himself so sick they spent the next morning in the waiting room in ER, Frank clutching a plastic bag in his hands in case he needed to puke.

Fifteen years later and Frank still feels the urge to stuff his face with all the gas station candy the guys stuffed the van with on their piss-break a few hours back, even when the childhood memory is so vivid in his mind. They're pulling an all-nighter again, trying to catch up with Brian's planned 'dream schedule', which got majorly fucked over last week with Frank's latest bout of cold.

He's lying in the backseat, head propped up on Gerard's thigh, lost in his thoughts. Around half eight Gerard starts singing Happy Birthday, while stroking Frank's short-cut hair, and soon Ray, Mikey, even Otter are joining in, disturbingly out of tune considering the van's supposed to be full of musicians.

Gerard bellows a final _Happy birthday dear Frankieeee, happy birthday to youuu!_ and pats him on the chest, giving him an awkward half-hug. Frank chases that hand and grabs it before Gee pulls it back, links their fingers together and brings both hands back to his chest.

"Happy birthday, kid," Otter says around a loud belch, hand wrapped around the neck of his Heineken while saluting Frank. Gerard squeezes Frank's fingers, practically crowing in his amusement.

"Jeez, thanks," Frank drawls, "I'm touched. No, really, fucking touched."

"Aw. You're welcome," Otter says and throws a bag of candy at his head. Frank takes aim and throws it back, satisfied when it hits Otter's head hard enough to make his whole body jerk.

"Hey, you want your present now?" Gerard asks suddenly, leaning down to dig through all that shit on the floor.

"Um, yes?" Frank says, sitting up. "When did you have time to get me a fucking present?"

Gerard makes a startled noise as Ray takes a corner, making a swift turn right. They're driving through a suburb, Frank realizes, looking out the window.

"It's not really a real present," Gerard says, finally sitting back up. "I just saw this little thing at the gas station and thought it'd fit the occasion. So, um. Here."

Frank takes the plastic bag from Gerard and peers inside. He finds a small Frankenstein's monster keychain inside the bag, rubbery when he holds it between his fingers. Grinning, he drapes his arms around Gerard, pulling him into a real hug. "Thanks, man, I fucking love it. You can't go wrong with Frankenstein's monster." He's even got a brown line of stitches spanning his green forehead and he's dressed up in a tiny, grey suit.

"That's what I said to Mikey," Gerard beams, looking so pleased with himself as he nods in Mikey's direction. Mikey's typing on his phone, holding it close to his face like he has trouble seeing the text. "Actually, that was his exact reaction then, too. God, would it kill him to put down his phone for one second?"

Frank giggles, ducking under Gerard's arm and bracing himself for the upcoming rant, mushing his nose in Gerard's hoodie. He smells dirty, like smoke and sweat and grease and armpit, totally gross, totally Gerard.

"We'll all get you better presents when we actually stop somewhere," Gerard says, cupping Frank's upper arm, giving it a squeeze.

"I don't care," Frank says, "this is good enough."

"Ha, liar," Gerard says close to Frank's ear. Frank sees him hesitate for a second before a kiss is pressed above his ear.

"Guys, look outside," Ray calls out from the front. He's started driving at a snail's speed, the reason becoming apparent as Frank glances out the window. The sidewalks are lit by lanterns and streetlights and there are kids everywhere, all dressed up in costumes and swinging their pumpking shaped candy buckets in their little hands.

"Shit," Frank breathes out, transfixed by the sight. He thinks about his mom and his seven year old self back in Belleville, New Jersey, an age ago, and squeezes the keychain monster in his fist, hard, trying not to feel stupidly homesick over it. He feels Gerard's knuckles running along the side of his head, over his ear and down to his neck, dissappearing just under the collar of his hoodie, and when he looks up at him, Gee's still gazing out the window, a wistful smile on his face, like he too is thinking back past Halloweens and what they came to mean to him.


End file.
